FRAMINGHAM - After 33 years, the man whom at least one former player called “the legend Coach Kane” is retiring at the end of the school year.

“I have mixed feelings,” said Chris Kane, athletic director at Joseph P. Keefe Technical High School, “because I love what I’m doing, but I think it’s time to consider moving on.”

Kane, 57, was the school’s head football coach from 1993 to 2006, and has been the athletic director for nearly 20 years. During his tenure as head coach, he racked up 84 wins, 54 losses, and three ties, he said. In 1994, he took his undefeated team to the league championship.

“Coach Kane was probably one of the best things to ever happen to that school,” former player and Keefe Tech coach Willie Villafane said. “Not only was he a great coach, but he was a role model to many of the children that entered that school.”

For Kane, being the football head coach meant connecting with his players, and he spoke highly of the team’s players and coaching staff at that time. He keeps in contact with many of his former players, and Villafane is one of a few who have come back to coach under Kane.

“I really enjoyed and loved being the head football coach,” Kane said.

Villafane, who was on that 1994 championship team, likened Kane to a father figure. He taught them more than how to throw, catch and run plays, he said.

“Me, personally, I grew up without a dad so he kind of became that overseer that every kid needs in high school,” Villafane said. “He also incorporated what the game meant in life, as far as teamwork, as far as responsibility, as far as dedication, as far as being a leader.”

Fellow 1994 teammate Fred Hernandez, who also came back to Keefe Tech as an assistant coach, agreed.

“Some of the best memories I have of Coach Kane are his pep talks, his game day pep talks,” Hernandez said. He’d get a close seat even after he was a player, for any game he coached or attended. “They leave you with your arm hairs sticking up …. you’re ready to go into battle.”

Kane is also responsible for Summer Discovery at Keefe Tech, in which he was involved for 30 years, and the director for the last 12, he said. The program grew from 20 campers to almost 800 this past year, Kane said.

He’s also involved in the school’s showcase days, when prospective students can get a taste of what the school is like, and Accepted Students Day.

“Chris has been an incredible athletic director … He is inspirational, he is enthusiastic,” Keefe Tech Superintendent Jon Evans said. “He sets an extremely good example, and he is always dedicated to our students.”

As the school’s athletic director, Kane said he focused on building participation in the athletic program, such as increasing the number of varsity sports available to students from 13 to 18, including volleyball.

Some of his best days, Kane said, are when he gets to walk the Keefe Tech property when afterschool practices are in full swing.

“Keefe Tech is a great place,” Kane said. “For over 33 years, I don’t think a day’s gone by where I’ve really ever regretted my decision. It’s just been great.”

Kane said he’s not sure what he’s going to do with his new free time yet; he’s still focused on his work.

“I never ever really thought about the day when I’d have to move on, and probably as it neared I kept pushing it off,” Kane admitted. “But I’ll have to decide pretty soon.”

Evans said he doesn’t yet have a timeline on finding Kane’s replacement, but he’ll know better after the school’s budget is developed in the spring.

“You kind of remember Keefe for Coach Kane,” Hernandez said. He added, “It’s going to be weird with him retiring this year.”

Alison Bosma can be reached at 508-626-3957 or abosma@wickedlocal.com. Find her on Twitter at @AlisonBosma.